TugOfWar
by Argon Jaden Siberite Bluridge
Summary: Everyone has a story. Everyone has a secret. Most of all, everyone has a guardian. And it IS a game of Tug-of-War to pry someone you love from their guardian. Or in this case, someones...


**Jason: I know what you're gonna say. The author's name is Jade. Yes she's my sister. To those who don't know me yet, hi! My sis and I are working on this together, so no harsh feelings k?**

**Jade: Hello. Thank you guys so much for supporting my other story. I know it could be kind of suckish, but still, thanks.**

**Together: We own nothing!**

**Conceiving the Unexpected**

Lucy looked at the beautiful city of Magnolia from the bushes of a high ledge. Early rays of sunshine gently lapped at the streets. The melodic voices of birds chimed in with the morning bell. Out in the east, the sun rose quietly, despite the beautiful morning hymn, as a gentle breeze caressed her face, blowing her golden hair in beautiful waves. She searched the city until she found it; Fairy Tail. She blinked back a few tears.

"It's been six years." She said with a melancholic smile. Settling down, she poked and pulled at the blades of grass underneath her feet. She averted her gaze back at her beloved guild, recalling her reason for leaving them for a while.

_~Six Years Ago~_

_Lucy emptied the contents of her stomach in the toilet. She groaned as she lifted her head. Feeling another disgusting feeling in her gut, she retched again and again. She knew it could be true; her period hasn't come for weeks yet again, Cana had challenged her to a drinking match but of course, she lost after one bottle. A soft, feathery hand touched her shoulder. She looked up and saw Lissanna's worried face. _

"_Lucy, you don't have to go on a mission with me and Levy when you're not feeling well. We can bond next time, when you're feeling better." Lissanna said with a wan smile. Lucy shook her head and shakily stood up._

"_I promised, right?" She said with a smile. "And besides, I'm feeling better already." _

_Lissanna gave her a worried look as she went outside and waited for the blond mage to get ready. Levy looked at Lissanna._

"_Is she coming?" the excited solid script mage asked, after all, It was the bonding between the three of them. Lissanna gave her a sad smile._

"_She is but, I do hope she's sure she can do it." Lissanna said as she looked at the door where Lucy began retching again. Levy looked at the door with a worried expression._

"_I hope so too." Levy said with a nervous sigh as she stood beside Lissanna in nervous silence._

_**~Later That Day~**_

_Lucy whipped at a half-blind robber. She checked over to where Lissanna was. The young Take-over mage was panting as her blue and red scorpion tail and pink crab claws lash and grab at her distracted opponents. She turned to the other side to Levy. She smiled, seeing the solid script mage in action, writing runes on her opponents as she jumped around. In no time flat the three mages had wiped out almost all of the thieves, the remaining ran. They panted hard, back-to-back and anticipating another attack. Somewhere far from their line of view, a twig snapped. Lucy turned around while Lissanna turned to the right and Levy twirled to the left. They positioned themselves for another attack._

_A lone man walked through the rubble of rock, soil and fainted bodies. The three simultaneously glared at the new intruder, judging if he was friend or foe. Of course it was obviously a foe. A dirty hooded cloak was over his head and with every step, they could see the man's feet covered in a tattered black robe. Under his cloak, his eyes gleamed like a madman. He gave out a throaty laugh, even if the girls could see some blood dripping from under him._

"_My, my, what so we have here, hmm?" He said, eyes boring through the three female mages. He cocked his head at them, giving the girls a freaky image of the madman. _

"_An expecting young mage" Lucy gulped in shock while Lissanna and Levy raised their guard. The man smiled, his sharp, shiny white teeth in a malicious smile._

"_A protective lass of a mage." He said, turning to Lissanna, his smile growing bigger and creepier. Lissanna drew back a bit while Lucy glared harder. Levy positioned her hands as she thought of a new rune._

"_And a girl with the eyes of a forgiver." He said, licking his lips with his long, reptilian tongue. He placed his palms together and smiled. _

"_Shadow Swirl: Soul Drainage" He said, releasing a strong burst of dark magic from the magic circle in his palm. A large tendril of black and midnight blue snaked its way towards the three exhausted mages._

_Lucy tried to move, but her magic seems to have depleted even more rapidly. She gasped, making the two girls look at her momentarily. Lissanna and Levy glanced and nodded. Fearlessly, they stood in front of Lucy, shielding her and getting a direct hit. The man menacingly laughed as the two mages screamed in pain. Lucy could see their magical energies being absorbed. She shakily stood up, but fell with a loud thump. She began crying, knowing that she'll be unable to do anything, without killing herself. She gripped her whip._

"_Lu-chan." She looked up to see Levy and Lissanna wear pained smiles. She teared up. She can't believe the two were making such sacrifices for her. She could see their magical energies slowly being reduced to zero. She teared up again. Lissanna chuckled._

'_Lucy, just promise us that you'll take care of your child and make us the godmothers." She said with a teasing, yet pained, smile as she fell soundly to the floor with Levy. Lucy shakily stood up and shakily griped her whip harder, tears streaming on her downcast face._

"_You hurt my nakama. You hurt my best friend. You hurt my new sister." Lucy said while shaking. She looked up and glared at the man who smirked brighter._

"_That's why I'll destroy you." Lucy said quietly, her voice dripping with rage at every word. The man smiled and licked his lips. He spread his arms. His glowing eyes shared the bloodlust of a demon. Lucy glared at him head on._

"_In your condition, I don't think so but, very well." He smiled as Lucy cracked her whip at him. He nimbly caught it and his grin grew wider, saliva hungrily dripping from his mouth. Lucy tugged at her whip, but the man held it tightly. She tugged harder, feeling her magic concentrate somewhere in her abdomen; somewhere she couldn't control it._

"_Shadow Drip: Dark Matter." He said, a black magic circle appearing on Lucy's whip. It grew tendrils and snaked its way towards Lucy. She closed her eyes, expecting the hit._

"_Mizuryū no hoko!" A strong blast of water shot from her left, washing the black tendrils away. Lucy felt her whip go unbalanced and she fell beside Lissanna. With little strength she had, she looked to see two figures._

_A girl, with long maroon hair and startling blue-green eyes shifted her stance. From the looks of it, she was the one who attacked. _

_A boy with messy black hair and the same startling blue-green eyes seemed to speak silently to the man. She couldn't hear it, but by the looks of it, they were arguing. Lucy tried to make out the words, but she couldn't. Everything was going fuzzy. _

_The boy seemed to have snapped. Then the boy launched himself at the man, the girl behind him. The man raised his hands and began uttering a spell. Time seemed to slow down in Lucy's fuzzy vision._

"_Mizuryū no Kagitsume!" The two yelled, their hands and feet wrapped by strong swirling currents of water. _Just like Natsu's Fire Dragon's Claw _Lucy thought as her eyes gave up, allowing the world to go black._

_**~The Next Day~**_

_Lucy woke up to a throbbing pain somewhere in the back of her head. She cracked her left eye open and closed it, wishing she didn't. The sun's early rays were too bright for her. Lucy groaned as she turned to her side. _

Where am I?_ Lucy thought as she opened her eyes once more. Then her eyes widened in shock._

"_Levy-chan! Lissanna!" She said as she abruptly sat up, a searing pain erupted somewhere in her rib area. She grasped her side. _

_She looked at her surroundings. She seemed to be in a bedroom. A wooden beside table was on her right. On her left was a window. A few pictures were hung on the wall. Peering closely, she could see two smiling kids, a girl with maroon hair, shoulder to shoulder like the RKSA (Rune Knights Secret Agents), with a boy with black hair._

Wait.

_Maroon Hair? Black Hair? Lucy gripped her head in her hands. Yesterday; it happened yesterday. Everything flooded in her mind. She doubled over, her head aching even more. The soft bed creaked when she shifted her position._

Lissanna, Levy-chan, where are they? What happen to them? Are they- are they d-de

_A gentle hand touches Lucy's shoulder, stopping her from her thoughts. She looked up to see the girl with maroon hair and blue-green eyes wearing a worried expression. Behind her, a raven haired boy with the same eyes crossed his arms in an anxious manner. _

"_Are you ok?" The girl asked. Lucy studied her face. Despite the fact that the girl was unfamiliar, Lucy couldn't help but be relieved to see someone. She teared up, earning a worried look from the girl. She tried to talk, but no words came out, only distress, pain and worry._

_Lucy threw herself at the girl, crying her heart out. The boy behind them sighed blankly before leaving. Lucy stayed like that, crying until her eyes ran dry. The girl seemed to understand her distress and began rubbing her back, whispering soothing words. After what seemed like eternity, Lucy fell asleep._

_Lucy once again woke up to the sound of someone frantically gasping. She opened her eyes and saw Mirajane, shaking with fear while holding the doorknob, beside her, Elfman stood there with large, surprised eyes. She sat up, and realized that the pain was gone. She looked around the four white walls that surrounded her. Fairy Tail's infirmary. _

"_Lissanna." Lucy said, jumping to her feet. She cringed when her feet hit the ground. She faced her left and couldn't describe what she was seeing. Lissanna was asleep, but she looked so... lifeless. She wobbled over when a hand grabbed her wrist._

"_Gosh. It would obviously be a bother to be seen here." A boy with disheveled raven colored hair released his grip on her wrist. He yawned, walked towards the white haired mage before leaning over Lissanna with his eyes closed. He opened his them and gave Lissanna a relieved look._

"_Epanafora." He whispered, his blue-green eyes glowing brightly as his breath blew some of Lissanna's bangs. Immediately, Lissanna's color returned. The sleeping white-haired mage sighed contently. Her chest began to move up and down as she slept, each breath soft and comforting. Mirajane was still crying while Elfman looked away, tears threatening to spill from his eyes._

_Lucy looked around her and noticed another body just beside her. The body was covered in a blanket. Shivering, she could see it faintly glowing, almost unnoticeable. It looks like it was supposed to radiate warmth, yet it seemed so cold. She reached over to touch the cloth on the body's head, her breath hitched in when a gold lock drifted in her view._

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you."_

_She turned to see a glowing person, when it faded, a girl about her age with long, messy black hair cross her arms. Her startling blue-green eyes bore onto her soft brown ones._

"_Weren't you a guy a few seconds ago?" She asked, her interest thrown at the young girl in front of her. The girl looked at her with a confused expression before looking down._

"_Oh Cretins! Not again!" The girl said, glowing brightly. When the glow faded, the boy with disheveled black hair was back, wearing a flushed and embarrassed face. Lucy had to smile at his discomfort. The guy cleared his throat and walked past her. To her surprise, the boy walked through the body and proceeded to another bed. _

_Lucy gasped when the cloth fell over, revealing a beautiful teenage girl's face. This girl had golden blond locks, pale skin and an expression of a person in her vegetative state. In other words, the girl was Lucy. She covered her mouth and fell to her knees, unsure of what to think._

"_Am I- I de-dead?" She asked, touching her own body, checking if she was still solid. She felt herself solid, and yet, she felt so unreal. It felt like a memory._

"_Not quite." The boy answered. She looked up to see the boy whisper the same word to Levy, who had Team Shadowgear and Gajeel hunched over her, grasping her hands. Gajeel momentarily looked up at the boy then shook his head, muttering words too soft for anyone but Gajeel to hear. The boy smirked._

"_So, I was right. He is a dragon slayer. He was able to smell me, so I guess he's pretty good." The boy said, shaking his head. He leaned back and walked over to Lucy. He gripped her shoulder and slowly pushed her towards the bed with the covered body. His blue-green eyes glowed, distracting Lucy. This was her failure. She _can't_ let herself be seen like this._

"_I don't want to show myself. Not like this." Lucy began, fighting the eyes of the boy in front of her. She felt sleepy and disoriented. The boy raised an eyebrow._

"_Would you like to die then?" He skeptically asked; his voice soft and compassionate. Lucy shook her head._

"_I can't forgive myself because of what happened to them." Lucy said, emotions in an unfamiliar rollercoaster as a tear slid down her cheek. As it dripped down her chin, the boy caught it in his hand._

"_Tha epistrepso." The boy whispered as the teardrop hardened into a ball of lukewarm, salty water. He pressed it against Lucy's palm._

"_Just repeat the spell when you want to return to us." He said with a smile. Lucy sleepily nodded. "Now, you should sleep." Lucy nodded off, her eyes were closing._

"_Y__pnos kai na epanenonei."_

_Lucy felt her body relax as her mind went blank. She could feel her head hit the pillow as she drifted off into a dreamless sleep. _

_After what seemed like an eternity Lucy until she regained consciousness. She took in the scent of antiseptics, cleaners and the strange smell of menthol and eucalyptus. She opened her eyes and saw Levy's eyes flutter open. Lucy smiled as the solid script mage smiled back at her and resumed her slumber. She focused on Levy's face; there were a few scratches here and there but otherwise, she seemed fine. She gave her best friend a relieved smile when she heard someone grunt. She looked beside Levy and was surprised to see Gajeel, casually sitting in an out-of-place wicker chair beside Levy._

"_You finally woke up." Gajeel commented, crossing his arms and sighing through his nose. "How'd you guys get in this state?" _

_Lucy looked up at him with bleak eyes. Her voice trembled, but someone needs to know this._

"_I had to give up. They protected me, and I just had to. For-" Lucy stopped, her hand inching towards her stomach. Gajeel nodded._

"_Figures. You smell like three people, it's rather faint though. Who's the dad then, Bunny-girl?" Gajeel asked, not shifting his position. The girl he was talking to looked up at him with eyes that made him understand. He groaned._

"_Don't tell me that _'that'_ probably happened when you and Flame brain fell unconscious when he was trying to save you from drowning and a couple mistook you for a couple and – " Gajeel finished his sentence with a slightly frustrated growl._

_Lucy nodded. Gajeel huffed._

"_Get some sleep." Gajeel gruffly said before Lucy closed her eyes._

_She woke up an hour later to someone yelling her name. She opened her eyes and slowly sat up. She could still see Gajeel, undisturbed, chuckling and reading a comedy novel he probably got from Levy. She looked at her left and saw Lissanna peacefully sleeping, her snow-white hair covering her face. Then, the door banged open. Lucy jumped when she saw Natsu standing there looking enraged. He took a few steps towards her. Just beside her bed, he stopped. She looked at him with concern, a worried expression on her pretty face. She couldn't read his expression. The silence was quite heavy and thick that Gajeel stopped laughing from his book and looked up at the two._

"_Lucy, did you give up?" Natsu's voice was full of pain. Lucy looked at his fists, which were shaking. He seemed to make sure his flames were in check._

"_I had to. I didn't want to, but-" Lucy was cut off when a sharp slap hit her face. Unbeknownst to the two that both Lissanna and Levy were stirring. Lissanna cracked an eye open to see the two. She saw Lucy's face, a tear falling down to the white, soft bed covers. What shocked her more was Natsu's voice._

"_You gave up! You let Lissanna and Levy to get hurt to save your butt and you what? Give up?" Natsu yelled at her, but the celestial mage didn't flinch, she just allowed tears to fall freely down her face._

"_I don't know you anymore. You're not the Lucy I know. The Lucy I know would never allow her friends to get hurt." Natsu said in a quiet and controlled voice. Lucy looked up at him, eyes streaming with tears and jaw set to protest._

"_Get out! I don't know you!" He pointed out the door, his fist shaking at his side. Lucy closed her mouth, lips quivering._

"_Don't regret what you're doing then." She said, standing up and leaving, a slight limp in her step. When she was out of the door, she went to Mirajane, who sounded quite interrupted because she was talking to her swollen stomach, and talked with Master. Natsu glared at the bed where Lucy rested a while ago, disbelief was crossed all over his face. He heard Lucy's steps recede as she went up to master._

"_Natsu." The said boy turned around in happiness, only to be greeted by a sharp slap in the face. He looked to see Lissanna, tears burning down her bruised face._

"_We did this to ourselves. We needed to protect her." Lissanna said, tears falling from her eyes, Natsu just stared at her, dumbfounded. Lissanna racked herself in sobs as she huddled her pillow. She tried to speak again, but the words couldn't leave her mouth. Levy's bed creaked as she tried to sit up._

"_Don't you get it? Lu-chan is- She's trying to protect her-" Levy couldn't finish. She doesn't know how he'll react to the news. She weighed her choices as Gajeel touched her shoulder._

Should she tell him?

_Natsu frowned, even more agitated. He heard Lucy walk out of the guild, her scent growing fainter._

"_Lucy is what?" He asked unimpressed with his hands crossed over his chest. Gajeel growled at him as he forced Levy to lie down._

"_She's pregnant, you flame-breathing retard! Bunny-girl is pregnant! She needed to give up to save her kids." Gajeel yelled at Natsu who was stunned by the news. He stared at Gajeel, eyes wide. He was so stupid. In his anger, he didn't realize that Lucy was pregnant. The weird smell she produced was because she was pregnant._

"_N-no way." He stuttered, tripping over himself before running out of the infirmary. He ran past Gray, who was as happy as Happy while screaming "I'm gonna be a dad!" He passed Erza, who glared at him while Jellal held their baby boy. His breathing became rough and ragged, as if each step was worth a thousand miles._

He needs to see her. He needs to know.

_Arriving at her apartment, he saw Lucy talking to the owner. His eyes widened. Lucy was asking her landlady to hold her rent, then she disappeared. He jumped to her window, eyes darting around the room for a certain blonde mage. He sighed in relief when he saw her. She was slumped forward, racked in sobs._

"_Luce," He whispered, moving a step towards her._

"_Tha epistrepso." Lucy whispered, clutching something closer to her chest. _

_Natsu felt himself panic as Lucy slowly glowed and began to crumble away in gold dust. He frantically reached for the particles but failed to grasp them. He fell on his knees and sobbed, unsure and crazed, not knowing what to do. _

_He opened his eyes and saw a small marble of fluid roll over to him. He stared at it and tears sprang once again from his eyes. It smelled like salt and vanilla._

_Lucy was crying because of him._

_Lucy fell sideways from her sitting position and continued crying. She could see an oak door being opened. She just kept crying. She couldn't dare lift her eyes. When she finally was able to stop, she tried to focus on her surroundings. She closed her eyes and listened; she heard birds of different breeds singing and the scampering of animals. She could smell the sweet scent of forest flowers and the citrus scent of fruit-bearing trees. She heard a small flutter of wings directly over her. She looked up to see a gray exsheed with black tiger stripes on it. Its snout, stomach and tip of its tail was white, making it look like an adorable tiger-exsheed. Lucy could guess it was a girl because of the ribbon around its neck. Lucy stared at it until it suddenly slapped her._

"_What was that for?" Lucy asked, rubbing her sore cheek. The exsheed snorted._

"_I was asking you if you're alright and how did you end up here." The exsheed said, rolling its yellow-green eyes and crossing its arms in annoyance. _

_Just then, another exsheed bolted out of the door. It was a carbon copy of the exsheed in front of her, except it was yellow and had a darker shade of yellow for its stripes. This exsheed had a blue bandanna around his neck. It huffed and panted next to the other exsheed. Lucy stared at the two._

"_You must be the visitor Jason talked about." It said, grinning at Lucy. _

"_They're out now, but they'll be back. I'm Mew. What's your name?"_

_Lucy looked up at the exsheed. "My name's Lucy." _

"_Lucy Heartfilia, I'd guess." The gray and black exsheed said with a warm smile. "I'm Glameow, by the way. Call me Gla-chan."_

"_Why don't you get in? It looks like it's about to rain in a few minutes." Mew said, looking up at the darkening sky. _

_Lucy stared at the exsheeds, unable to process their presence. Gla-chan sighed at Lucy and lifted her. A few minutes later, she was inside a really comfy house. It somehow reminded her of her house, because the entire place was interconnected. Gla-chan and Mew were great company; they kept her familiar, as if she were a close friend who came to visit. _

_Outside, a storm brewed, blowing some leaves across the ground. The two exsheeds stopped talking to her for a while so that they could shut the windows and make hot chocolate. After everything, the two exsheeds went back to interrogating her. She told them everything, and when they saw that she was tearing up again, they nodded._

"_What do you think my favorite food is?" Mew asked with a smile, flying in front of her and grabbing her attention. Lucy unconsciously diverted her thoughts._

"_Uhm, fish?" She guessed. The yellow exsheed shook his head and grinned. Gla-chan laughed._

"_He likes cheese!" She said with a chuckle. "Guess what mine is." Lucy smiled._

"_Strawberries? Mangoes? Cheese?" Lucy guessed, thinking hard. Mew smiled._

"_She likes chocolate!" He said with a large smile. Lucy laughed with the exsheeds._

_Just then, the door opened and two pairs of feet shuffled in, muttering and joking._

"_Jaden, by the way, do you remember that girl, Lucy? She's here." A female voice said, rather nonchalantly for a girl to muster. Lucy raised her head. The voice was familiar._

_The exsheeds grinned at Lucy before grabbing her and shoving her inside a closet. She had to hold back a gasp as Mew shoved a fist-sized piece of banana bread in her mouth. Lucy slowly chewed on the piece of bread as the footsteps walked around in front of her._

"_You know, we can smell her so you don't need to hide her." A stern male voice said. Lucy peeped from the small crack and recoiled immediately from it. Two bright flashes of light enveloped the room. Suddenly it was quiet. Lucy leaned over to hear anything that the four might be planning. When her ear was touching the closet, someone pulled the door, making her fall flat on her face._

"_Ow." Lucy muttered as she peeled herself off the floor and glared at the four giggling in front of her. She glared at them. _

_A girl with long maroon hair and playful blue-green eyes laughed once more as she held the door of the closet. Opposite to her, a boy with black hair and the same eyes with the same expression clutched his stomach. In the very middle, the two exsheeds were rolling in the air laughing. _

_Lucy looked at them and laughed, all signs nervousness forgotten. She blinked at them as the maroon haired girl extended her hand._

"_Hi. The name's Jade." The girl with maroon hair said, helping her up. Lucy stared at her, unable to process this weird, new girl. She glowed brightly and a rather intriguing-looking guy with disheveled maroon hair and unnerving green eyes smirked at her. Lucy gaped at... him? Her? It?_

"_My male form's name is Jaden." He said in a leveled tone, as if it was normal for every girl to become a guy. He glowed and Jade was back._

"_I'm Jason." The black haired boy said, offering her his hand to shake. Lucy grinned._

"_What's the name of your female form?" She giggled, remembering his surprising female transformation. Jason looked away quickly while Jade tried not to laugh._

"_Jazz!" Mew said, flying in front of Lucy. Gla-chan crossed her arms and gave them a warm smile._

_That was how they first met, the two who took care of them for five years, in the beautiful house in the middle of the Lost Forest, where the sun rose and rain flew._

_Lucy smiled at the siblings. She learned that they _retaliate_, as Jason called it, people who had been responsible for the death of their parents. Lucy felt sorry for them at first, but not for later when she found out how much the two of them pack in a fight. _

_Each and every day she trained with them, increasing her magical power and her fighting prowess. Every day, the three of them, five counting the eksheeds, create traps and hunt. She learned a variety of tactics from them and was later able to harness them for battle._

_Every week, Lucy wrote to Fairy Tail, telling them how she was. She learned that Natsu was always beating himself senseless._

'_For making Lucy cry.' Was his answer, as quoted by Levy. _

_When her children were born, Jade and Jason said she passed out for a week. Jason also told Lucy that while she was giving birth, a big ball of fire fell on her from the skies. _

_Jade said that it was the 'tail' of the marking of a fire dragon slayer. Lucy was shocked to hear about it, but she did see a mark; just below her nape where the neck joins with the shoulders._

_She had twins; a young boy who was the exact replica of his father, and a little girl who was a carbon copy of her mother. _

_She also received a letter from her guild when she gave birth. They told her that Natsu went on a rampage, encased in a blur of flame. This continued on for half a day, while Lucy was in labor, and he fainted right after. In a later letter Mira told Lucy that Natsu just woke up. Setting things aside, she focused on getting better and training._

_Her children, at the age of three, started mimicking her training. She realized that her daughter was rather handy with the whip, much like her mother, while her son had immense strength, and the unsurprisingly humongous appetite of his father._

_Strange enough, Laxus, being a second generation dragon slayer, 'coincidentally' came across them one fine, stormy day. The siblings were extremely wary of him at first, but soon warmed up to him. To Lucy, he acted like he had seen his little sister, making the kids call him uncle and calling Lucy baby sis. But, it only lasted for a few months. It was only an accident that he came across them, but he left with a smile, reassuring Lucy that she, and her family would be forever welcome in Fairy Tail. To the siblings, he invited them to join, and they said they'll think about it. Then he left, leaving Lucy with hope that even the person who isn't close to her would accept her, how much ore her best friends?_

_As the years drifted by, she found out that her children had combined the powers of their parents. Lucy was proud of them, but Jason warned her that the father might be exposed._

_She heeded his warning and decided to train her children more effectively, drawing closer to the people who took her in. The siblings trained the children whenever Lucy wasn't around. Although her heart somehow pained to see her children groaning because of the training they received, her children were set to train harder. It seemed that they both inherited their parent's persistent personalities, both the best and the worst._

_As Lucy watched her kids capture their first hunt, she realized that she didn't want to forgive him, yet. As the years flew by, she started to have thoughts about returning. Making up her mind, on the sixth year, Lucy decided to go back, but with one favor._

"_Don't let him know about his children. He should find out himself." She stiffly told the siblings and eksheeds who took care of them for the past years. Jade and Jason solemnly nodded._

"_What about the kids?" Gla-chan asked, crossing her paws over her chest. Mew flew behind her, a worried expression on his face._

"_Lucy, what about Ryu and Ashter?" Mew asked, flitting in front of Lucy. Lucy smiled at the eksheed and patted his head._

"_They know their regulations." She said with a sad smile. Jade gave her a lopsided grin. _

"_Well, we're leaving tomorrow then." She said, running off to pack. Jason chuckled behind her._

"_Just remember to introduce us. We might want to join." He said, giving Lucy a knowing smile. Between the two siblings, Jason was the most mature while Jade was the more immature. It was rather hard to believe they were related, if they didn't possess the same eyes._

_Lucy smiled at the black haired-boy as he turned around, before rushing over to his sister when he heard a few things falling. She smiled fondly at them. They did say they wanted to join a guild, they were, rather shy as one would call it. Lucy simply thinks that they are rather afraid of joining, who would if a secret like theirs leak out, the entire guild could be in danger, but that's over estimating it._

"_Mommy," A young girl pulled at Lucy short skirt, diverting her from her thoughts. She looked down to see a girl about the age of five smiling up at her. The girl looked straight at Lucy with her chocolate brown eyes._

"_Are we going to that place, Mommy? Are we going to Fairy Tail?" Lucy smiled as she bent down and ruffled the girl's golden locks._

"_Yes, we are going back, Ashter."_

"_We'll see Daddy then." A boy about the same age as the girl said as he stepped out of another room (presumably the kitchen) with a smirk that resembles his father said. He took a large bite out of a piece of whole chicken from his left hand. The little girl crossed her arms._

"_Why do you like Daddy so much? You haven't even seen him in person." She said with a huff. The little boy grinned. _

"_And so? He's our dad. So help me pack my stuff, little sis." He said with glee while he dragged his sister from their mother who wore an amused expression. After a few minutes, she heard the little girl scream._

"_I don't want to touch that junk pile!"_

_Followed by an immature young adult's protests._

"_Ne? please Ani? Can't we bring my books?"_

_And a withering retort from both male parties._

"_You say that my collection of different colors of fire is junk, what about your books, Ashter?"_

"_No! If I'd allow you, you'd beg me to bring the entire freaking library. No!"_

_Lucy sighed as the entire house was filled with shouting, flying furniture and flying weapons. She sighed._

_~Back to Present~_

Lucy became aware of someone approaching her. She turned to the right to see Jaden leisurely walk towards her. The young male rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat down beside her. His disheveled maroon hair had a few twigs and leaves from sleeping in the woods. The boy childishly grinned at her.

"Mornin' Lu- _yawn_- ce." He said, stretching his feet in front of him. Lucy gave the boy a wan smile.

"What's so good about the morning, Jaden?" She asked, hugging her knees closer to her chest. Jaden raised an eyebrow at her and began to glow. Lucy averted her gaze to her beloved guild, and her thoughts on why the maroon haired girl becomes a guy during the evening.

"You can tell me what's wrong, you know." The glow faded and a girl with long maroon hair and concerned blue-green eyes smiled at her. Lucy looked at the girl, not knowing if talking heart-to-heart with her would work.

She scanned the girl beside her. A few twigs still clung on her beautiful, yet unkempt, long maroon hair. The girl cocked her head at Lucy, who assessed her friend some more. Jade, as a female was a lot like Lucy in terms of body size, though her bust could rival Lucy's. Lucy sighed once more. Jason would look the same in his female form and as a guy, he and Jaden looked more like twins, minus the hair color. Lucy breathes out through her nose. Jade gave her a worried frown. Not having Lucy to talk back after five minutes was rather unusual.

"Luce, are you ok?" Jade asked once more, hugging her knees in the same manner as Lucy. The blond beside her shook her head.

"I don't know, Jade." She said after a few minutes of silence, her voice clearly confused. Jade nodded, looking up at the flock of birds above them. A gust of wind blew through their hair, removing the twigs from Jade's head.

"He should smell us by now." Jade said as she stood up. Lucy nodded and slipped up on her feet. Jade smiled and scrunched her nose.

"This place smells like someone who eats fire and bathes in fire." Jade said, mildly coughing. Lucy had to laugh.

"That would be Natsu." Lucy said with a smile. The two girls looked at each other and gave each other a small laugh. Lucy smiled at her friend. True, if you want serious talk or in need of a listener, talk to Jason; but if you want counseling or someone to make you smile, Jade was a good candidate.

"Let's go wake up the others." Lucy said with a grin. Jade nodded in agreement.

Together, the two girls sprinted back towards the forest.

_**~Meanwhile~**_

In the floor of a dark room, a young man was curled on his side. His spiky hair was unkempt and his hands were curled into fists. A red mark was on his right shoulder, the mark of the guild Fairy Tail. All around him were paintings, pictures and requests. A maid outfit also stood by a corner. Everything was labeled, but all of them contained one similar word... _Lucy_

The man groaned as he curled closer to his body. He cracked his eye open and instantly closed it. Tears spilled from his eyes.

It was another day; another meaningless day without _her_. He shakily stood up and peered at the paintings. His dark eyes couldn't seem to decide if they were emeralds or onyxes. A tear dropped on the floor as the young man reached out and caressed the painting. He peered into its eyes.

A girl with blond hair and chocolate brown eyes smiled back at him. Her golden hair was tied in her signature ponytail as she childishly grinned back at him. Staring at those eyes, he felt close to her. He felt her near, just beside him, but she was far. The young man sighed and allowed his hand to fall back to his side as he slumped to a bathroom.

He opened the shower and peeled of his clothes, allowing the steam from the shower cover him. He knew Erza and Mira, heck even Lissanna, would kill him if they found out that he wasn't taking care of himself. After a few minutes of standing under the gentle caresses of the water, he rubbed a green rectangular bar over his body. He knew Lucy used liquid soap sometimes and the bar kind every now and then. And he also knew that she bought almond scented soap and vanilla scented shampoo. He gave a melancholic smile as the water gracefully slides down his face, his chest, his torso and his feet. Sighing, he turned the shower off and stepped out, allowing his body heat to dry the water. He slipped on his clothes and walked towards the door.

Just when his hand turns the doorknob, he stops. He trembled, his other hand clutching the doorframe for balance. What if she's not back yet? What if she'll never return? He gave himself something between a whimper and a growl. He became emotionally weak, running back home just to cry whenever he sees a whip, or even a key. He trembled and tried to stand his ground. He released his grip on the doorframe and gave a sad sigh.

"Why did I become like this when you left Luce?" He asked to no one in particular. He straitened himself and stepped out of the door.

The bright morning sky seemed a little wrong, considering his mood. Not to mention the birds chirping happily on the forest trees with their mates. Natsu sighed as he closed the door and trudged along the path.

A gentle breeze picked up, making the fire dragon slayer stop in his tracks. He raised his head and sniffed. His heart picked up its pace.

Vanilla and Almonds, Along with the scent of strawberries and apples mixed with the smell of the forest.

Natsu ran. Lucy was with someone. _His_ Lucy was here. She was back. He sprinted until he reached the town square. A breeze had picked up once again, taking the beautiful scent away. He collapsed, his breath ragged and hitched.

"_Natsu"_

Her voice was carried by that gentle breeze. He smiled, for the first time in years, and stood up. He raced over to the guild.

Lucy cringed as her children walked beside her. They had just come from her apartment and had fixed things up there. They apparently realized that the siblings have a home in almost all the towns, including Magnolia. They had constructed a teleportation door which was connected to the sibling's house. But that's when the two backed out. Now, Lucy had them gagged and tied, making their eksheeds carry their struggling butts all the way to the guild. Lucy's daughter looked at the two teens with pity.

"Mommy, Are you sure it's alright to walk down the streets with Auntie Jade and Uncle Jason tied up?" She asked, eyebrows scrunching at the two teens. Lucy gave her daughter a bemused smile as the morning people of Magnolia stare at them with amused or skeptic expressions.

"Of course." She said, shooting a death glare at the two who began shivering. The boy on Lucy's right, Ryu, spoke.

"Unless you want to chase them again." He folded his hands behind his head and smirked at his sister. "Besides, it's more fun this way, right Ashter?"

The little girl pouted as the two eksheeds cringed once more.

"Seriously Jade, would you like me to load you in a cart and drag you there?" Gla-chan said as she sternly folded her paws and looked down at the struggling teen hanging on her tail.

"Aye! That would be a great idea, right Jason?" Mew said with a cheeky grin. The two teens looked at the eksheeds in horror and started turning green. Lucy laughed.

"don't get sick just by thinking about it." Lucy said with a grin. The two stared at her with terrified expressions before finally falling limp. Ashter, Lucy and Ryu laughed at them. Jason looked up and gave them a disdainful twitch before falling down again. The two children and the eksheeds resumed their laughter. Their laughing abruptly stopped when Lucy threw open a large door and stepped inside.

She surveyed the place. There were children everywhere. Some were carbon copies of their parents. She looked around, seeing everyone's disbelieving eyes. She sucked in a deep breath.

"Tadaima, min'na!"

**Jason: We both honestly have transportation sickness. Our other siblings don't.**

**Jade: Please review. The button is just itching to be clicked.**

**Jason: That sounds so wrong.**

**Jade: Shut up.**

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